Hayden Kaae is ready to make some noise at the CIF State Wrestling Championships in Bakersfield starting on Friday.

The Etna High junior took first place at the Northern Section Master's Championship wrestling tournament this past Saturday in Redding, Calif., at 195 pounds to earn a state berth.

He is only the second Etna wrestler to have earned a state berth and the first to win a Northern Section title. In the title match against Aaron Bates of Chico on Saturday, Kaae won by pin in the second period.

"This has definitely been my goal this season," Kaae said about making it to state. "I'm excited."

After not making sections as a freshman, Hayden took fifth place last season to place. The top three finishers in each weight division move on to state.

For the majority of the season, Hayden has been the top ranked Northern Section wrestler at 195 and is currently 29-10 this season.

Despite being sick with flu like symptoms at sections, Hayden put aside how he felt, focused at the task at hand, and came away with the first place finish. On Tuesday, Kaae said he was still not 100 percent but said he should be good to go by the time Friday comes along.

Hayden's first match at state is against Josh Bailey of Frontier, who is currently ranked No. 9 at 195, while Kaae is an honorable mention selection. Although an underdog, his coaches said they have watched film on Bailey and believe that Kaae matches up well against him and can certainly pull off the upset and start the tournament off on the right foot.

"I'm just going to go for it," Kaae said."I've got nothing to lose." He said that his goal is to certainly make it to the second day of the competition on Saturday and go from there.

Kaae said that he worked hard before the start of the season to get himself to where he needed to be to earn a state berth. This included wrestling in the offseason, weightlifting, and taking part in numerous wrestling camps and tournaments to prepare.

Hayden began wrestling when he was in fourth grade and quickly developed a passion for the sport. He has had a lot of guidance and encouragement from his father, Kyle Kaae, who is a co-coach in wrestling at Etna High alongside head coach Scott Forrester.

Kyle Kaae said that it is a balance being both Hayden's coach and dad. As a father, he said he could not be more proud and elated with his son earning a berth in state, which is extremely hard to achieve. After all, wrestling does not separate by division like other sports and all divisions compete against each other in the section and state level. Considering Etna is a small school of around 200 students, what Hayden has achieved is quite the accomplishment, his father said. As a coach, he said, he looks at it differently and is, "always looking for improvement." That's why he said he works closely with Forrester to work with Hayden and push and guide him to help achieve his maximum potential.

Page 2 of 2 - Forrester said what impresses him so much about Hayden is his dedication and his understanding that it takes hard work to achieve something like earning a state berth.

"He's focused and pushes himself," Forrester said. He said that Hayden understands that to be great in a sport it takes more than athletic ability to perform at a high level and that he needs to put in the needed work year-round.

Both Forrester and Kyle Kaae believe that while an underdog heading into state, Hayden has the ability to surprise and perform well. They believe that if Hayden wrestles to his ability he can come away with the opening round win, which should give him positive momentum the rest of the way.

Hayden Kaae said that his future goals are to again return to state next year and place, as well as hopefully wrestle in college.